Since the start of the 2022 season, Red Bull has been on a dominant run in F1, while Mercedes has gone through a significant slump. While teams such as Ferrari and McLaren have significantly cut down on the gap to Red Bull, Mercedes continues to struggle to do so. However, a positive outing in Montreal has the Brackley outfit hoping for a turn of luck, with James Allison confident of more positive results in 2024.
Quoted by Formu1a.uno, the Mercedes Technical Director talked about the progress made by his team this season. With a consistently improving car in W15, the 56-year-old is confident that as the season progresses, their problems will fade away.
“The changes we have made are making this car a better car. And that will be true at every circuit we go to. The characteristics of Montreal make it look a little quicker than we have a natural right to command at the coming races.”, Allison said.
The race in Canada gave a massive confidence boost to Mercedes as they look to return to winning ways. George Russell was able to secure pole position for the main race by registering the exact time as Max Verstappen in qualifying. While Russell wasn’t able to convert it into a win, a P3 finish meant the Silver Arrows earned their first non-sprint podium of 2024.
Celebrating our best result of the season so far with a George podium in Canada
What a race, Team!#CanadianGP results
GR63 [ P3 after 70 laps Podium
LH44 [ P4 after 70 laps ⏱️ Fastest Lap#OutRaceYourself #PETRONAS pic.twitter.com/20QiNP7pZU— PETRONAS Motorsports (@PET_Motorsports) June 10, 2024
Additionally, Lewis Hamilton also had a positive end to the race, finishing in a season-high P4. Starting the race from P7, the seven-time world champion climbed three positions to break into the top five for the first time this season. However, the result still wasn’t enough to warrant a positive reaction from Hamilton and Toto Wolff.
Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff were not pleased by Mercedes’ result
The Canadian GP saw Mercedes’ best result in 2024, with George Russell finishing in P3 and Lewis Hamilton securing P4. While the result was hugely positive for a team struggling to perform, Toto Wolff was still far from happy with the result. Quoted by GP Fans, the Austrian team principal detailed why there was still a negative sentiment within the camp.
“It felt like one of my worst drives that I’ve had… the positive is that the car is progressing”
Lewis Hamilton was left frustrated with his performance but buoyed by Mercedes’ overall improvement #F1 #CanadianGP https://t.co/DjRAtzR89w
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 10, 2024
According to Wolff, both Mercedes drivers knew that there was a higher finish up for grabs for them. However, neither driver could capitalize on the same, losing out on a “position or two.” Hence, “a negative sentiment remains” in Mercedes, according to the Austrian boss.
Meanwhile, Hamilton, too, was far from happy with a P4 finish. He expressed his discontent over not being able to translate practice pace into race pace. Furthermore, the Briton himself admitted to the race in Canada being among the worst he has driven.
